Manx Organic Farms Planning Justification

Manx Organic Farms Ltd

Ballanea Farm Kirk Michael Isle of Man IM6 1HJ Tel/Fax 01624878289 Mobiles 07624498516 or 07624461132 Email: [email protected]

To the Secretary of the Planning Committee

Below is a brief outline of reasons for the need and positioning of the proposed Cattle shed at the above address;

Manx Organic Farms Ltd is a company set up by myself and my Father in 2003. It is the continuation of the family farming business going back four generations. As the company name suggests we are a fully certified organic farm and have been since 1991. We are members of the Manx Agri-Environment Scheme who promote good husbandry in all areas of the industry, as well as currently seeking Farm assured accreditation in line with the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry's wish for all Manx farms to obtain this standard.

Due to the increasing demand for organic beef in particular we have seen the need to increase our herd numbers gradually over the last ten years to well over two hundred head of cattle. This includes cows, calves, yearlings and finishing cattle. Everything born on the farm is taken all the way through to finishing/fattening and then sold on to the Fat stock Marketing Association where it is distributed among local butchers.

In light of this and the fact that it is very difficult to rent or buy more land we need to keep the cattle indoors during the winter months. This would have many benefits not just to the farm but environmentally too:

i) Dirty water pollution would be vastly reduced due to the absence of livestock drinking from streams/ditches, and also by the removal of outdoor feed areas which tend to get rather "mucky" in wet weather.

ii) Grass fields will not be damaged by the trampling and "cutting up" caused by cattle, which in turn will mean an earlier crop to turn livestock out on to, as we can't rely on nitrogenous fertilisers as other conventional farmers do.

iii) Because the animals are protected from the elements they tend to thrive better on the same ration, this means less forage is needed. This is extremely beneficial as there is a very limited supply of organic feed stuffs on the Island.

iv) The farmyard manure which is obviously produced in these sheds is essentially our only source of nitrogen which is needed to make our crops grow.

Health and safety on the farm is another factor and the need for a safe working environment is a factor in the design of the shed. The feed area being situated under the canter lever on the NE elevation means the livestock can be fed from the outside without the need for direct physical contact with the animals, which is an unavoidable hazard when feeding livestock in a field

There are also animal welfare issues to take into account. The organic certification bodies stipulate the size of straw bedded area is larger than that enforced by the farm assured scheme, this varies depending on the size/age of the livestock but as a general rule is 10% larger. This will be taken into account with the internal fittings which would mirror our other modern cattle shed built in 2003 (planning ref.02/00844/B) Built directly in line SE of the proposed site.

These two sheds will be used together to house all of our cattle with the old shed used for the isolation of animals for various reasons including ill heath and calving difficulties.

The site proposed for the shed has been used for the storage of farm implements for some years but we have recently had a clear out and now most of the implements fit in the adjacent “lean to” shed. The site is also close to the grain store where the cereal is kept and then rolled before being bagged every morning and distributed to the livestock.

As mentioned in the “Application for Planning Approval” form, the proposed shed will be clad in “serpentine green” fibre cement sheeting to match the existing cattle shed and by its proposed location would allow the existing handling equipment to be used in conjunction.

If you or any of the committee has any questions I’ll be happy to answer them either by phone 461132 or by letter or email at the above address

Yours truly,

P S C

Pheric Curphey